Drunk.

Chapter Six

I didn't have a choice. No matter how much I didn't want to do this, I had no where else to go, unless I wanted to sleep in the park. With shaky hands, I dialed the number on my phone, and for a minute, I debated whether or not I should dial the number or just sleep on a bench in the park. But I knew that as bad as this decision could be, I would rather do it than sleep outside for the night, so I hit the call button and put the phone up to my ear. It rang for about a minute before I heard some rustling and a voice.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mike?"

"Hey, Kellin, what's up?"

I didn't really know what to say to him, 'Look, so my dad kicked me out because I talked back to him, and I was staying at Tay's at first. But then I heard her and her mother arguing about me staying there so I left and now I don't have anywhere to go and you're basically my only other friend. So can I stay with you?'

Instead, all I said was, "I know it's late, but can I come over? I have to talk to you about something."

I heard slight rustling, like Mike was walking somewhere, and then a faint conversation that I couldn't really make out between him and a female, possibly his mother. It was quiet for about thirty seconds until Mike started talking to me again.

"Yeah, that's fine. Come over whenever," he spoke and then a quiet buzzing noise filled my ears, indicating that he had hung up the phone. As soon as he hung up, I found myself letting out an intake of breath that I didn't realize I was holding in, and a smile beginning to form across my lips, as if nothing could bring them back to their normal, straight line. I stuffed my phone into the pocket of my jeans and began the slow walk to Mike's house.

But only halfway through the walk did I realize what I was really getting myself into.

This wasn't just Mike's house. it was Vic's house. The guy who absolutely hated me for no reason, and refused to even let me ask him that simple question of what I did to make him want nothing to do with me. Normally, I would have changed my mind, I would have called Mike and told him that I couldn't come over and then went to the park for the night.

So why did this suddenly not bother me?

I forced the thoughts out of my brain to prevent myself from doing something stupid, and continued walking over to Mike's house. The night air was quite cold, something rare for a state like California. I pulled my long-sleeved shirt tighter against my arms, my backpack falling off my shoulder and onto my wrist in the process. I hissed quietly at the feeling of the rough material being pushed against my bruises, it was like getting hassled all over again. I pushed the strap f the bag off of my wrist and watched it hit the ground as I tried to even out my breathing, tears beginning to form in my eyes. I took shaky, deep breaths until the pain in my wrist slowly subsided to a numbing feeling. Deciding that was good enough, I grabbed my bag again, slung one strap over my shoulder, and continued walking. I had been walking for about fifteen minutes, so I assumed I was somewhat close. And I was right, because after not even two minutes, Mike's large white house was sitting in front of me. I could see that the lights were on downstairs and a few upstairs, and I came to a conclusion that the family was just finishing dinner, as it was almost eight o'clock. My body shivered, and I couldn't tell whether it was from the cold or the fear of what was about to happen. I took a deep breath and slowly walked up the three small, cement steps and found myself standing right in front of the door, my shaking hand in the air, molded into a fist a few inches away from the door. I stood for a few seconds and debated putting my arm and simply walking away from the house, but I knew that if I did bring myself to make that choice, I would regret it. So I slowly brought my hand down to the door, knocking only twice. I heard Mike yell out, "I got it!" before the squeaking sound of a chair against the floor and heavy footsteps getting louder and louder as Mike approached the door, swinging it open with a smile.

"Hey, Kellin! Come on in," he smiled, clearly trying to be nice but sounding creepily nice. I didn't know if this thought was because he really was over exaggerating the welcome, or if I only saw it that way because I wasn't used to any sort of politeness at all. I pushed the door open a little wider with my bag and walked into the house, a strong smell of spaghetti filling my nose. I followed him to the kitchen where I saw Mike's mother and father at the table, smiling at me.

And then there was Vic, who seemed to refuse to look at me, a blank expression on his face as he picked at the remaining past on his plate. At least it's better than his horrid glares.

"Kellin, hi! We've heard so much about you! I'm Vivian, and this is Victor." As if it was possible, she smiled even brighter. I suddenly felt more uncomfortable, but decided to just go along with it, as they were giving me a place to stay. Mrs. Fuentes told Mikey to show me the room I would be staying in, and suddenly, all the awkwardness in the house vanished, as everyone began to roar with laughter, all except for Mike, his cheeks bright red and his face in his hands, making everyone laugh even harder than before. Even I began to laugh, not as loud as everyone else, but just enjoying the positive vibe that this house gave. After about a minute, the laughing beginning to quiet down, Mike quickly stood up from his chair and scurried over to me, putting his hand on my shoulder and lightly pushing me towards the stairs. Once we reached the staircase, he moved in front of me so I could see him and follow him to the spare room. By the time we were at the top of the stairs, the laughing had finally died down, and I heard the sound of the sink running.

I didn't realize that he was taking me into his room instead of the spare room until we were in there, his body blocking the door, and his arms crossed. My heart beat increased with every second that passed, and I knew what he was about to say, I just wasn't quite prepared for it.

"So, Kellin, do you want to tell me why you're here?"

I'm sure he noticed the increase of fear in my eyes, but his still remained emotionless as he stared at me, waiting for a response. If it was even possible, my breathing became more shallow, and my heart began to pound faster and faster inside my chest, as if it was trying to escape my body. I tried my best to show Mike that that wasn't the case, I tried to say, "I was bored, so I was wondering if I could come over." But I knew Mike. And Mike knew me. And I know that he would know when I lied, no matter how long he's known me.

He continued to stare at me, and no matter how cold his stare was, I saw behind it, just for a split second. I saw the desperation, as if he needed me to tell him like his life depended on it. He was desperate to get a spot in my life, to be able to help me. To make me the person I was years ago.

Maybe that's why I cracked.

I don't know if it was the pressure, or the thought that he would not have given up until I told him, or even just the fact that I had someone who cared, but I cracked, and I told him everything. I told him about how my mother and father were constantly fighting until my mother left when I was five, causing my father to turn to alcohol for comfort. And then I began to tell him all the things that still surprise me, even though they've been happening for years.

I told him everything my father says to me. I still couldn't get over the fact that I remember every single word, every single insult he's thrown at me, but I do. It's like he took a tattoo gun and printed every letter onto my skin in the form of scars, forcing me to remember his harsh words every time I look down at my wrists, or my stomach, or my thighs. They were there to haunt me, and they were never going away.

I told him what happened the night he dropped me off, what happened after he left. I explained to him the fight between the two of us when I got home the next day, and how he kicked me out, causing me to stay with Tay for one night. I saw him gave me a look, asking through his eyes, "Why did you leave Tay's?" Sighing, I told him what had happened with Tay. How her siblings didn't trust me, how awkward everything was, and how I walked over and heard her and her mother arguing about how they didn't want me there. Ending my story, I finally told him that that had been the reason I came here.

The entire time I spoke, Mike's eyes grew softer and softer, until I finally recognized them as the ones I had seen the first day of school, the eyes full of hope and care, as if he loved everyone. But this time, only one thing was different.

I saw sympathy, and that was the one thing I never wanted to see from him.

The moment I saw that look in his eyes, mine darted to the floor. I could still feel his on me as mine tried to look at anything but his own. We were silent for minutes, contemplating what to say. Mike let out a deep, shaking breath before he spoke.

"Kellin, you know you can't go back there."

"Do you really think I want to? I would gladly kill someone if it meant getting away from him." Mike pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a loud and over-exaggerated sigh. He looked at me hopelessly, as if he didn't know what to say to me. And I couldn't blame him. I wouldn't know what to say to me either. We sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking of things to say to one another. After a minute or two, Mike opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. It took another few minutes before he began to speak again.

"Look.. Kellin, I don't really know what to say to make this better, because I know that just saying 'Everything will be okay' won't do shit. But I promise you that I will try my best to get you out of there, I swear on my life."

And then he held out his left pinky which made me smile a real smile for the first time that entire day. It was a childish thing to do, really, but it made people keep their promises. I stuck mine up, too, and we linked them together, smiling at each other.

"By the way.. Stay here as long as you need. I'm sure you know where the guest room is, right?"

I nodded and smiled again and grabbed both of my bags. We both turned around at the same time to see the one thing we didn't expect to see, and most definitely didn't want to, making me drop my backpack and my bag full of clothes.

We saw Vic, his brown eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape. I couldn't tell if he was shocked by what he had heard us say, or if he was shocked at the fact that we had caught him. Either way, it took him a few seconds to regain his composure before he quickly spun around, darting down the hallway, slamming his bedroom door shut. I heard the click of the door, meaning he had locked it, before Mike and I quickly turned our eyes away from the doorway and looked at each other, each seeing the worry etched into the other's eyes and the smiles that were previously there not even a minute ago, gone without a trace, like they were never even there. Mike opened his mouth to say something, but I never got the chance to hear him, only the beginning of my name, as I was already picking up my two bags up from the wooden floor and walking away the moment he uttered a sound. I could hear Mike's light but fast footsteps following me to the spare bedroom but I simply ignored him until I got to the door. I turned around and looked him in the eyes before softly whispering, "I just need to be alone for a few minutes. Please, Mike."

Mike quickly nodded and turned away, most likely back towards his room. I sighed, dropping my backpack out of my hands and watched it tumble to the ground before I used my spare hand to open the door, picking up the bag again and entering the room.

The size of the room wasn't too different from Mike's however it was only the slightest bit smaller and more plain. The walls were a pale blue, almost white if you stand far away enough. There was a bed in the right hand corner of the room, the foot of the bed in front of one of the two windows. There was no carpeting, only a medium brown wood floor. The only other pieces of furniture in the whole room was a white side table next to the bed, with a black lamp and an alarm clock, and a same color dresser on the opposite wall of the bed with a small television on top. I let a smile form on my face, although it quickly faded, as if even smiling was too much effort anymore. I walked over to the bed and dropped both bags next to it and let myself fall backwards onto the bed, my body sinking into the mattress.

I just laid there for a few minutes, trying to recap everything that had happened. Vic definitely knows, and now he's going to laugh at me about it until the day I die, constantly telling me I deserve it, that I should man up and defend myself. I was so trapped in my thoughts that I didn't hear my door slowly creak open.

"You know you should really do something about your dad." Vic's strangely emotionless voice interrupted me from my thoughts as my head spun away from the window and turned to him. He was standing in the doorway, his back up against the left side on the wood and his arms folded. He looked serious, almost mocking, and that was when I knew what his motive was. He was trying to get me to open up to him, and when I finally did, he would use every word I told him against me.

"Go away, Vic. I really don't feel like being ridiculed about my problems. right now. As you obviously fucking heard, I have enough shit on my plate right now."

Vic sighed and slowly walked into the room, as if he was scared I would attack him. And I probably would have if all the energy hadn't been completely drained out of my body from the events that had happened the past few days.

"Kellin, let's talk about this.."

"There's nothing to talk about!" I near screamed, my boiling anger finally overflowing. He looked shocked at my outburst, most likely I barely even spoke most of the time, but I continued to rant. I was absolutely done with his shit. I stood up, marching closer to him, my face inches away from his.

"You can't fucking play me like this!"

"Kellin, ple-"

"No! Stop treating me like this!" I moved back slightly, my entire body shaking from anger.

"Stop acting like I'm such a terrible fucking person and not even give me the chance to ask why, and then think you have the right to spy on Mike and I! You know maybe you would've known this stuff too, without invading my privacy, if you actually treated me like a decent human being! At least Mike cares, unlike everyone else I fucking know. So if we could gladly go back to the way things were before- the way things should be- then I would appreciate it." I was out of breath from my outburst, my face red and my hands shaking. Vic just looked shocked that those words could have even come out of my mouth. He both stood there for a moment, Vic oddly silent, no emotion on his face, and me breathing heavily as I tried to gain my composure.

And then Vic suddenly did the one thing I never expected out of him. He took another step foward, opened his arms, and wrapped them around me, pulling me into an awkward, yet comforting hug. At this point, I didn't even care that it was Vic. All my walls just came crashing down. I wrapped my shaking arms around his torso and sobs began to wrack my body. I heard Vic sigh, and one of his hands began to rub my back. I felt him kick his leg back a little bit and heard the door slowly shut so Mike or his parents couldn't see us.

We stayed like this for a good fifteen minutes until my sobs finally transitioned into soft hiccups and I could finally breathe properly again.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay Kellin?" Vic smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek and pointing to the messy, but made, bed in the middle of the room.

"Get some sleep, you look like you need it." The second that he mentioned sleep, my eyelids became heavier and I had an immediate urge to slip under the covers and fall asleep as fast as possible. Vic seemed to notice and smiled one more time before leaning over and shutting off the light on the bedside table and walking out the door, but making sure to turn around and close it. I let out a yawn, too tired to even chance my clothes. I slowly shuffled over to the bed and crawled under the covers, turning my body away so my back was facing the door.

Normally, I would have stayed up and over analyzed Vic's unexpected kindess, but I was too tired to even get the chance, as I fell into a deep sleep not even minutes after my head hit the pillow.
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Hi! Sorry this is so late, I kind of completely forgot about updating on Mibba, as I have the same story on Quotev. I have one more chapter on that one if you like to go read it, and chapter eight will be uploaded to that one soon :) http://www.quotev.com/story/5047904/Drunk/1/